Urgently Organize Beirut-Yerevan Charter Flight: Naira Zohrabyan

Naira Zohrabyan wrote on her Facebook page: "Urgently organize a Beirut-Yerevan charter flight. What happened in Beirut was horrifying: dozens of casualties, thousands injured, and the number of casualties and wounded is still rising. There are also casualties and injured among our compatriots.

What should the government of Armenia do? The Lebanese authorities urged Beirut residents yesterday to leave Beirut, as toxic materials harmful to health have been released due to a powerful explosion. We are responsible for each of our compatriots, and the government's top priority should be to evacuate our compatriots to Yerevan by charter flight as soon as possible.

I do not know what the Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Zareh Sinanyan, has been occupied with since his appointment, apart from organizing "covert operations" against Armenian opposition figures in Glendale, but nonetheless, our shared concern should be the safety of our compatriots in Lebanon. It is urgent to organize a Beirut-Yerevan charter flight within hours, and our compatriots, many of whom have been calling us since yesterday trying to understand how to reach Armenia, should be evacuated.

I believe we have enough vacant resorts where we can accommodate those affected by this great disaster during this time. I find it unnecessary to mention that, at this moment, the Commissioner of the Diaspora, who has been "silent" in Glendale until recently, should prioritize Beirut. Let’s collectively forget about the commissioner, because he has much more important missions in Glendale, and we should transfer our compatriots to Armenia by special flight as soon as possible.

I do not doubt for a minute that many of us are ready to host our compatriots from Beirut in our homes. By the way, just hours before the big explosion, 90 Armenians, including 16 children, arrived in Armenia on a pre-planned Beirut-Yerevan flight.

P.S. I should also add that the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan, had a phone conversation with His Holiness Aram I of the Catholicosate of Cilicia and informed that the "Gagik Tsarukyan" charitable foundation will allocate financial resources to our compatriots affected by the disaster, community structures, and the Great Catholicossate of Cilicia."